Public Interaction Undercuts Expectation on Admance.com

HOUSTON, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- When entrepreneur Landon Fears launched his website Admance.com, he was putting his future in the hands of the public. Fears sells advertising on his website, but with a twist: The public decides how much of the advertising dollars Fears keeps, and how much goes to charity. Based on recent ad revenues and corresponding public input, Fears reports unexpected results. Much to Fears' surprise, visitors have directed a majority of the ad proceeds to him.

"I had expected the public to donate about half of the ad revenues to charity," said Fears. "To me, these results are validation of my business model. The public understands that my ability to draw a salary from the site ensures that it will continue to be up and running - and continue to donate to deserving nonprofits."

Fears has designated The Salvation Army as the first charity to benefit from the revenue-sharing model. The timing couldn't have been better, with the holiday season in full swing. It may have been the holiday spirit, however, that swung the public's response in his favor.

"American consumers appreciate hard work and good ideas," commented Fears. "I feel like Admance visitors viewed the site with a balanced view of entrepreneurial creativity and philanthropy."

He said the name "Admance" is a combination of "advertising" and "romance" (similar to "bromance"). "It's basically my way of asking people to show ads some love," Fears explained.

Here's how the site works: A running tally of advertising revenues and charitable donations is displayed on the home page. Throughout the day, visitors can choose to send money earned through advertising in one-cent increments to either Fears or a featured charity. Advertisers pay one cent every time their ad is displayed. At the end of the day, the amount sent to charity is what Fears will donate the next day.

Admance has received numerous mentions in the press, including in an article on the Houston Business Journal's BizBlog. Reporter Christine Hall writes of Fears' inspiration for the business: "He told me that the idea came up following the outrage over inflated corporate executive salaries during the economic recession and how charities were hurting from the lack of donations."

Admance was founded in March 2009 by Landon Fears, a Houston-based entrepreneur with a background in computer science. Fears is a creativity consultant who helps businesses and individuals foster innovation and develop unique and successful ideas. A major focus for Fears is to apply his expertise to ventures such as Admance that give back to the nonprofit community.